Actress dies from burns in 1923 freak accident on S.A. film set

Actress Martha Mansfield died Nov. 30, 1923, at the Physicians & Surgeons Hospital (on Dallas Street; a precursor of the Baptist Health System) from burns she suffered in a freak accident the previous day on the set of the film “The Warrens of Virginia.”

On Thanksgiving Day 1923, Mansfield, according to the Evening News, ”had completed the last of the scenes in which she appears and was sitting in an automobile with a party of friends watching other ‘takes.’ One of the men in the party lighted a match, which ignited the filmy costume which Miss Mansfield was wearing.”

Co-star Wilfred Lytell threw his overcoat on top of her, saving her face and neck, but she was still burned on the arms and chest. Her chauffeur tore the burning dress from her body as she jumped out of the car. She was rushed to the hospital.

Only 23 at her death, Mansfield “first came to prominence in the film world for her clever work in ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,’ in which John Barrymore starred.” She was also in “The Perfect Lover” with Eugene O’Brien and, most recently, “Potash and Perlmutter.” Born in Mansfield, Ohio, her stage name came from her hometown. She had also been a vaudeville star, and had appeared here at the Majestic Theater.

According to Frank Thompson’s book, Texas Hollywood, the film was “the first big budget Hollywood film of the period to come to San Antonio.” It was a Civil War love story involving a Union soldier and a girl loyal to the South, played by Mansfield. Brackenridge Park played the Appomattox battlefield.

The film had already seen trouble when a “freak storm demolished a main set.” Neither the storm nor Mansfield’s death stopped production. As related in Texas Hollywood, “representatives of Fox [Film Corp.], barely concealing their relief, announced that most of Mansfield’s scenes had been shot, so the tragedy wouldn’t really have a negative impact on the film.”

In contrast, ninety years later, Universal Studios has shut down production of “Fast & Furious 7″ for the time being in the wake of star Paul Walker’s death in a fiery car crash, and they “are dedicated to providing support to Paul’s immediate family” and the cast and crew.